1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a surveillance camera, and more particularly to a surveillance camera for use with store security, building security, and any other security applications which has an impact absorbing structure working to avoid damage to an internal structure of the camera.
2. Background Art
Typical surveillance cameras present an appearance which persons will perceive to be a surveillance camera clearly and gives the impression that they are being watched in order to prevent crimes before happening, but it gives an unpleasant feeling to customers in the store, for example. The surveillance cameras are, thus, unpopular. In order to avoid such a problem, dome-shaped smoky surveillance cameras which are designed not to give people the pressure mentally have become prevalent. Typical surveillance cameras are classified into two types: an automatically angle adjustable type in which a direction of surveillance can be changed from a remote monitor room and an angle fixed type in which a direction of surveillance is fixed upon installation of the camera.
FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an internal structure of the angle fixed type of conventional dome-shaped surveillance camera device.
The camera unit 100 has an image capturing lens 102, a CCD image sensor, and a circuit substrate which are disposed within a casing 101 and works to convert a captured image into an electrical signal and output it. The casing 101 is retained at a side wall thereof by arms 103a of a holder plate 103. The holder plate 103 is disposed on the bottom of a support plate 104 to be rotatable to yaw the camera unit 100. The support plate 104 has arms 104a and 104b which are supported by upright arms 105aand 105b of a rotary bracket 105 through pins 106 and 107 to be rotatable vertically to tilt the camera unit 100. The rotary bracket 105 has engages at the center thereof a boss 109 of a base plate 108 to be rotatable horizontally to pan the camera unit 100. The base plate 108 is fixed on a body of the camera device (not shown). The camera device has installed therein a main substrate on which a power supply circuit and an image processing circuit are disposed and also has a power cord and a control cord extending outside the camera device for connection with a commercial power supply and an external camera monitor. A smoky dome-shaped resinous cover is installed on the camera device to cover the camera unit 100.
Such a surveillance camera device is usually suspended from a ceiling or installed on a side wall of a building. The installation is achieved by affixing the camera device to the wall temporarily, connecting the power and control cords to the camera device, panning and tilting the camera device while watching the camera monitor, and fixing the camera device in a desired position. In a case where the camera device is installed on the side wall, a vertical direction of a captured image may be inclined after the angle adjustment. The inclination is corrected by yawing the camera unit 100 to stand the image upright. After the direction in which an image is to be captured is determined, the camera device is fixed firmly on the wall.
The surveillance camera device, however, has the drawback in that persons being watched may feel uncomfortable with the surveillance and beat the camera device with, for example, a baseball bat, thus causing damage to an internal structure of the camera device.